I found this the other day and absolutely loved it! I have no idea who wrote it but it is awesome! For those who can’t load the image let me repeat the 8 things to remember when going through tough times: 1. Everything can – and will – change 2. You’ve overcome challenges before 3. […]

“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve […]

“Today: had my top on backwards, the pants I’d slept in and looked like Jack Nicholson from the shining. Saw all of the people I know. All. Of. Them!” Isn’t that exactly how it goes?! Those days you feel prepared for anything often nothing seems to happen… and then the days you aren’t prepared at […]

Today I’ve got a fun guest post from my 21 year-old daughter Ashley to share with you called “The Power of Jimmy Johns”: For those of you who don’t know… I have a borderline OBSESSION with Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches. And when I say obsession… I mean I found 12 Jimmy Johns wrappers in my […]

The other day my son Dalton, whose wife is expecting their first child in August, called me sounding a little stressed and said something to the effect of, “Mom I just realized that I am going to have a kid here soon  that’s going to be with me forever and that I need to parent! […]

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You […]

The Declaration of Independence was approved by our Founding Fathers on July 4, 1776.  Today I was contemplating this amazing occurrence and I decided to read from some history books to gain a greater appreciation of the events that took place and the people involved.  Reading of the tremendous faith that these Founding Fathers had […]

I LOVE JULY! The month of July is literally one of my very favorite times of the year.  The weather is amazing, the BBQs are fired up, the swimming pool is open, summer vacation is in full force, there are fireworks galore, we watch fun parades, our families get together, there’s rodeos and picnics and […]

“Be strong enough to let go, and wise enough to wait for what you deserve.” – unknown Letting go of something you have cared about, but recognize is hurting you, is never easy.  Whether it’s a toxic relationship (or just a relationship that is keeping you from moving forward), or a bad habit (especially an […]

I have spent the last several days in meetings with a group of the nicest people you could imagine. They are people who are kind, genuine, down to earth, and generous beyond measure and it was refreshing and invigorating to be surrounded by people who have a mutual passion for helping others.  There is something […]

Nothing is more discouraging then when you are literally working your guts out to make something happen and you suddenly get a wrench thrown in your works. Having something unexpected trip you up can feel in the moment like you’ve hit a dead end. Especially if you are physically worn out and emotionally spent from […]

“I want to remember that no one is going to make my dreams come true for me…it is my job to get up every day and work towards the things that are deepest in my heart…and to enjoy every step of the journey rather than wishing I was already where I want to end up.”   […]

When is the last time you stepped back from your life and gave it a once over? Let me give an example that will illustrate what I mean: Several years ago an organization created a logo and a website that perfectly fit their needs for targeting the market they were focused on and using messaging […]

Today I was privileged to attend the dedication of the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center, HCI’s newest 225,000 sq ft world-class facility that doubles their current research capacity dedicated to advancing research in cancer. As explained in today’s press release regarding the new expansion, “Research enhancements include a biotechnology center, complete […]

I’m just going to put it out there – I do NOT like waking up in the mornings. I tend to be more of a night owl which makes it really hard for me to wake up early, yet most days I’ve got things scheduled all day long which means I end up being grumpy […]

I love summertime. I love the sun and the water and everything about summertime. The only thing that is hard about summer is that for every week you take off and every trip you go on you have to carry the stress of coming back home and facing all the work that has piled up […]

“Happiness is the ability to move forward, knowing the future will be better than the past. Today I choose to be happy!” I think our ability to feel happy is substantially stronger when one has the ability to evaluate oneself in an honest way so as to recognize one’s own strengths and weaknesses, doing so […]

“A daughter needs a Dad to be the standard against she will judge all men.” I was blessed with a Dad who set the bar unbelievably high as to what to expect from the men in my life. And it was his example that led me to choose an amazing man for my husband and […]

The Time Bank: Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!! Each of us […]

“The glory of friendship is not in the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is in the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.”     -Ralph Waldo Emerson When someone believes in you and trusts you […]

Some days someone sends you the perfect quote at just the right time in your life when you needed it most, or you come across a poem that applies perfectly to a situation you are going through, or you hear just the right song on the radio at just the right moment for you to […]

“I have learned that the head does not hear anything until the heart has listened, and that what the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow.” – Jones Stephens Communication. It sounds like such a simple word but the reality is that communication is one of the most complicated things we do in life. […]

We all have dreams and hopefully we’ve all set goals to help us to achieve those dreams. But too often people become discouraged when they can’t achieve their goals as fast as they’d like and as a result they begin to give up on their dreams. The reality of life is that most things end […]

Many years ago I wrote about something called “The Open Your Heart Experiment”. This experiment stemmed from a challenge suggested by an author named Virginia Hinckley Pearce, who wrote the book, “A Heart Like His: Making Space for God`s Love in Your Life”. Here is what I shared about The Open Your Heart Experiment: “The […]

One of the greatest stories of all time is the story of the Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.  In this story we read about these creatures called Sneetches. There were two groups of Sneetches, one group had stars on their bellies and the other group had plain bellies without any stars.  The Star Belly Sneetches were […]

None of us are immune from having hard times in our lives. We all struggle with one thing or another. Whether its illness, or loss of a loved one, or financial difficulty, or heartbreak, or job loss, or feelings of inadequacy…everyone struggles…  Over the past few weeks I have had several close friends dealing with […]

“Your journey has molded you for the greater good. It was exactly what it needed to be. Don`t think you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” – Asha Tyson I have never believed in coincidence.  Maybe I have […]

Today you are all in for a HUGE treat!  For those who have followed my blog over the years you know that I write every single one of my blogs myself. The only exception to that is on the rare occasion when I can convince my son or daughter, who are both incredible writers and […]

I realize that not everyone out there is a country music fan, although I have a hard time understanding why they aren’t, because country music is awesome! But as I was driving in my car the other day this song came on and I sat listening to the lyrics and they were so fantastic that […]

I often have people tell me how impressed they are with the character of my son and daughter, and that compliment is often followed with the question – how did you do it? How did you raise those kids to be such great people? Well as much as I would love to take credit for […]